Coin controlled card display device



Aug. 25, 1964 L. R. FORRESTER COIN CONTROLLED CARD DISPLAY DEVICE '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May '7, 1962 INVENTOR. 0024222170- Arme Aug. 25, 1964 1.. R. FORRESTER com CONTROLLED CARD DISPLAY DEVICE 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 7, 1962 imme W6 1964 1.. R. FORRESTER 3,145,819

COIN CONTROLLED CARD DISPLAY DEVICE Filed May 7, 1962 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 a 0 BY Qjgwsmozz 7 a Aug. 25, 1964 R. FORRESTER 3,145,819

com CONTROLLED CARD DISPLAY DEVICE Filed May 7, 1962 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 I; 1 l -85 m. i I1 H5 l3 ll- JIM; vii

Wg I /7 Aug. 25, 1964 1.. R. FORRESTER 3,145,819

COIN CONTROLLED CARD DISPLAY DEVICE Filed May 7, 1962 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 BY W ATTORNEY Aug. 25, 1964 L. R. FORRESTER 3,145,819

COIN CONTROLLED CARD DISPLAY DEVICE Filed May 7, 1962 I 7 Sheets-Sheet e IN VENTOR 277 22 E MQM Aug. 25, 1964 L. R. FORRESTER COIN CONTROLLED CARD DISPLAY DEVICE Filed May 7, 1962 '7 Sheets-Sheet 7 H 9 EZ INVENTOR WKQZQ United States Patent 3,145,819 CGIN CONTROLLED CARD DISPLAY DEVICE Leonard R. Forrester, 687 Harold Ave., Winter Park, Fla. Filed May 7, 1962, Ser. No. 192,932 13 Claims. (Cl. 194-1) This invention relates to an improved coin controlled display device for advertising cards, message cards or the like, and more particularly to such a device in which the number of coins deposited by a customer determines the indexing of an endless, flexible time storage means that is employed to determine the length of time his display card will be in public view.

This invention is a modification of the invention represented by my co-pending patent application filed March 9, 1961, Serial Number 94,551, bearing a similar title and featuring a display device utilizing a time accumulator wheel for determining the display period of a customers card. The rotative indexing of that wheel in a time storage direction was brought about the customer at the time of depositing his coins for the purchase of display space. Means were provided for periodically indexing that wheel in the direction. opposite the direction it was moved by the customer to prevent an unlimited display privilege, with the wheel finally being moved to a final position that resulted in the display card installed in the device by the customer being removed from view.

The time storage means employed in accordance with the present invention may be a beaded chain or the like, which is of less expensive construction than the toothed time accumulator wheel employed in conjunction with my earlier invention, and is ideal for less expensive installations, particularly if a space limitation is present. The latter statement is correct inasmuch as the chain arrangement is inherently less space consuming than the time accumulator wheel and its related mechanisms.

Considering the present invention in more detail, it may comprise a housing in which a card insertion slit is disposed, With a card receiving means being disposed in the housing adjacent the slit. The card receiving means is operable between a latched position in which the inserted card is received and supported for visible display, and a position assumed at the end of a purchased time period that causes the card to be rejected from view. The chain representing the endless flexible time storage means is capable of being incrementally indexed in a first direction, with the amount it is indexed representing the card display time purchased. A coin receiving mechanism is operably connected to bring about an indexing movement of the chain in response to each coin deposited in said coin receiving mechanism. The first coin deposited to cause the commencement of a display period for a card being inserted in the display device causes the time storage means to be indexed for a first incremental amount, and also causes the card receiving means to be latched in the position for receiving and displaying the card, and causes the gate controlling the card insertion slit to be opened. Each subsequent coin deposited during this purchased display period principally serves only to cause the time storage means to be indexed an additional predetermined amount. Means are provided for limiting the display period by periodically indexing the time storage means in the direction opposite the time storage direction, and means are operably interconnected with the time storage means for causing the rejection of said card at the end of the total period purchased.

The beaded chain may be indexed in the time storage direction or in the direction opposite such direction by a pawl that normally is adjacent but out of engagement with the chain. This pawl may be tilted in either of two rotative directions to place it in engagement with the chain for subsequent indexing movements thereof. After en- Patented Aug. 25, 1964 gaging the chain, the pawl may be moved parallel to the chain in either of two directions, with movements in the time storage direction being brought about by the operation of the coin-receiving mechanism by the customer, and the incremental return movements being brought about by the periodic operation of an electrical device, such as a solenoid.

The actuation of the solenoid may be controlled by the periodic closing of an electrical switch, and this switch may in turn be momentarily actuated by the sudden impact from a small flexible arm whose release is periodically brought about by the passage of time. Therefore, there is no need for a continuous utilization of power when my device is in operation.

The flexible chain lends itself to a construction in which an oversize bead or the like is employed to engage the tripping mechanism for the rejection of the card from display upon the chain being returned to its rest position, with the operation of latter mechanism also interrupting the electrical circuit of the solenoid so as to cause it to cease its operation until the arrival of another customer, whose card display periods are likewise to be limited.

A somewhat similar mechanism may also be arranged to be engaged by the oversize bead in the event a customer attempts to deposit so many coins as to index the chain too far, and this latter mechanism may take the form of a pin that is moved to temporarily interfere with operation of the coin receiving mechanism.

My display device may be economically constructed and quite advantageously employed in groups or banks of devices in which several are stacked one upon the other, and with a large number of such banks being employed in busy public places such as airport terminals or the like. As will be apparent, the use of my devices makes it possible for public notices to be attractively accommodated, even in comparatively expensive or tastefully furnished surroundings, while at the same time afiording a considerable amount of financial remuneration for the owner.

Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a typical card display unit according to my invention, shown partly in section to reveal significant internal construction;

FIGURE 2 is a bank of card display units of the type illustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view, to a larger scale, of the time accumulator unit generally revealed in FIG- URE 2, the present figure revealing the coin mechanism for advancing the time accumulator chain and the means for periodically moving the chain in the opposite direction in order to limit the time the card is displayed;

FIGURE 4 is a top view of the time accumulator unit shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view, to a larger scale, of certain details of the unit shown in FIGURES 3 and 4;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 but revealing the action of the solenoid in returning the time accumulator chain toward its initial position;

FIGURE 7 is a related view, disposed somewhat toward the left with respect to FIGURE 6, with the chain being shown as it is advanced by the customer upon the deposition of coins;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary view to a larger scale, of the pivot arm used in conjunction with the armature of the solenoid;

FIGURE 9 is a front elevational view revealing details of the card supporting means;

FIGURE 10 is a top view revealing additional details of the card supporting mechanism; and

FIGURE 11 is a view related to FIGURE 10 and revealing the manner in which a display card is auto matically removed by the mechanism after the time purchased by the customer has expired.

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary view revealing details of the gate employed to close the slot into which a display card is inserted;

FIGURE 13 is a fragmentary view related to FIGURE 12 but revealing the gate being moved to the open position;

FIGURE 14 is a smaller fragmentary view revealing the gate moved by the customer to the closed position;

FIGURE 15 is a fragmentary view revealing the gate operating device employed for moving the gate to the open position;

FIGURE 16 is a view somewhat related to FIGURE 15 and showing the gate operator moved clear of the gate, thus allowing in the manner depicted in FIGURE 14, the gate to close;

FIGURE 17 is a perspective view revealing the card holding mechanism, with the mid portion of the card removed;

FIGURE 18 is a side elevational view with parts in section to reveal details of the arrangement used for locking the coin slider after the maximum display time has been purchased;

FIGURE 19 is a view related to FIGURE 18 and revealing how the tripping bead causes the locking pin to be moved into position to deliberately interfere with coin slider movement;

FIGURE 20 is a front elevational view showing to a smaller scale the coin receiving arrangement for a plurality of display units;

FIGURE 21 is an enlarged view of the coin slider and coin way employed on a typical unit;

FIGURE 22 represents the timing arrangement employed for periodically closing the contacts of a microswitch to bring about movement of the solenoid to incrementally index the time storing chain in the time elapsing direction;

FIGURE 23 is a view related to FIGURE 22, with one of the flexible arms of the timing disc shown in a deflected position shortly before it causes the microswitch contacts to be momentarily closed;

FIGURE 24 is a side elevational view related to FIG- URE 23 and revealing the manner in which a standard clock mechanism may be employed for driving the timing disc;

FIGURE 25 is a fragmentary view revealing the use of a timing disc having a larger number of switch actuating blades, that may be employed to cause the timing switch to be energized more frequently;

FIGURE 26 is a view related to FIGURES 22 and 23 but including a setting dial; and

FIGURE 27 is a side elevational view of FIGURE 26.

Referring to FIGURE 1 the card display unit is revealed to be of generally rectangular construction and having an outer casing or housing 13, including a front wall 14. The front wall has a window in which a pane of plastic or glass 16 is secured, and behind which the display card selected by the customer is to be displayed. Alternatively the complete housing may be made of clear plastic, with the front of the unit masked except for the viewing space.

The card display unit also has side walls 17 and a top portion 33 in which is disposed a slit 34 through which the display card 130 may be inserted by the customer.

The operative mechanism is shown at the far right of this figure, being operative by a coin chute 45 which includes a coin slide 55, slidable inward after the customer has inserted a coin of the proper denomination therein. It should be noted that by depositing more than one coin the customer can in accordance with this invention purchase a number of successive display periods during which his selected display card will be on public view through window 15.

Referring to FIGURE 2 it will be noted that a given number of card display units can be attractively grouped into a display of selected size suitable for installation in super markets, air terminals and other areas of concentrated pedestrian trafiic. This grouping is facilitated by the use of rails or lugs 19 disposed on each of the side walls 17 of each display unit, which rails are received in the slots of vertically slotted channel members 21, which may be of H-shape cross section and which serve to maintain the display units in the correct position. The supporting members are supported by existing walls or suitable racks. As will be noted the rails 19 are disposed at an angle on the units, this being desirable so that in a vertical array of display units, the card-receiving slit 34 of a given unit will not be occluded by the base of the next higher unit. As will also be noted in FIGURE 2, the subject matter of each display card of the unit need not be related to the others, but may represent a subject dictated by the need of the person who selected a par ticular unit in which his card was to be displayed.

Referring to FIGURE 3, the time accumulator mechanism is shown in greater detail, this being supported from front wall 14 of the display unit by means of a base plate 31' which may be suitably bolted to the back of front wall 14. The most significant portion of the unit is time accumulator chain 70, which may be a conventional beaded chain of sturdy construction or may alternatively be of non-metallic construction of somewhat similar configuration. For convenience, the time accumulator element will be referred to as chain 70, although another satisfactory form of an endless flexible time storage means may be employed within the spirit of this invention. The chain 70 is disposed upon rear sheave 81 and front sheave 82 which are located at substantially opposite ends of base plate 30 and which may be provided with encircling grooves to prevent the chain from slipping out of the desired position thereon. A large bead 71, visible in FIGURES 4 and 5, is disposed on the chain which principally serves, as hereinafter described, to operate the tripping mechanism that removes a customers card from display at the end of the time period he has purchased.

As a result of the customer placing a suitable coin, such as a quarter, into the coin-receiving mechanism 45, and pushing the slider 55 inwardly, the internal portion of the slider is moved so as to bring about a change in the position of the chain upon its rear and front sheaves 81 and 82. For example, for each coin deposited, the chain may be indexed a distance of eight beads by the action of the slider and the related mechanism now to be described, thereby to purchase display time for the customer.

A guide rod 83 is slidably mounted on the underside of the base plate 30 such as by supports 104 secured to the base plate, and upon this rod the main actuating member 74 is secured, such as by a set screw 105 so as to move with rod 83. As seen in FIGURE 3, the main actuating member 74 is somewhat in the shape of an inverted L, with a generally horizontal portion of this member being arranged to bring about chain advancing movements of driving pawl 75, FIGURE 4 reveals that the driving pawl 75 is disposed directly above chain 70.

The pawl 75 is fixed upon a pin 76 that is rotatably mounted upon pawl support slide 78, which in turn is slidably movable in slot 73 of fixed member 72 that is mounted upon base plate 30. As will be seen, slide 78 is movable from the rest position shown in FIGURE 3, to a time storing position at the far left hand side of slot 73 as shown in FIGURE 7, as well as toward a time subtracting position at the opposite end of this slot as shown in FIGURE 6.

Returning to FIGURE 3, it will be noted that springs 79 and 80 are connected to hold the pawl 75 in the erect position shown. These springs likewise are responsible for holding the pawl support slide in the position nearer the right hand end of the slot 73, as shown in FIGURE 3. These results are obtained by virtue 'of the fact that these springs are connected to an arm $3 97, visible in FIGURE 5, that is secured to the rear side of pin 76 so as to be aligned with as well as rotatable with the pawl 75. The member 74 is equipped with a pawl engaging member 106 which is adapted to contact the upper portion of the driving pawl when the inward movements of slider 55 cause the member 74 to move toward the position shown in full lines in FIGURE 7. This contact causes the pawl 75 to pivot about the pin 76 as shown in latter figure so that the driving point 77a will be moved into during contact with one of the beads of the chain 70. Because the chain is movable in a groove 100, it cannot deflect sideways at the time it is to driven. Pawl support slide 78 is normally maintained near the right hand end of slot 73, as previously mentioned, so therefore the position of the pawl and slider shown in FIGURE 7 represents the position of these members after the pawl has indexed the chain 70 in the time storing direction as a result of the insertion of one or more coins. Spring like member 103 in FIGURES 6 and 7 serves to hold chain 76 in groove 100, and to prevent over displacements of the chain about the sheaves.

Considering the indexing of the chain in greater detail, the movement of the coin slider 55 against the adjustment screw 107 of the member 74 causes this memher and its associated rod 83 to slide to the left from the position seen in FIGURE 3, against the bias of compression spring 89 mounted upon rod 83 between the left hand support 104 and member 74. Incidentally, this is also against the bias of tension spring 81 that serves to return the pawl support slide to a point near the right hand side of slot 73 at the conclusion of each chain advancing stroke of slider 55. After a movement of member 74 under the influence of slider 55, the pawl advancing member 106 comes in contact with the upper portion of pawl 75, pivots it counterclockwise about its axis and then forces it to move to the left as shown in FIGURE 7. This pivoting of the pawl, as previously mentioned, causes point 77a to move into contact with chain 70 so upon the continued movement of member 74 to the left, the indexing of the chain is brought about, this being in a direction that causes a clockwise rotation of members 81 and 82 as revealed in top view FIG- URE 4. The spring 89 returns the member 74 away from its innermost position as revealed in FIGURE 7 back to its normal position as revealed in FIGURE 3 and also returns the slider 55 to the receptive position. It

should be noted that springs 79 and 80 hold pawl 75 in its normal, non-chain contacting position shown in FIGURE 3, during this return stroke, so that chain 70 remains in this new position and desirably is not moved back by this return stroke.

A counter 20 is provided so that the owner or operator of the display devices can periodically ascertain the number of periods purchased. The counter is prefferably secured on the inside portion of the front wall 14, with the face of the counter being visible from the front of the display device through a small aperture or window.

The operating arm 22 of the counter is preferably slotted, and this slot in contact with a pin disposed upon an extension 74a of the main actuating member 74. As a result of this construction, as the member 74 is moved to the left as viewed in FIGURE 3, the arm 22 is moved clockwise to the position shown in dashed lines in FIG- URE 3, thus bringing about a one digit larger reading on the face of the counter. Inasmuch as the slider operates the member 74 at the time of each new coin deposited, the counter is caused to record the total number of coins inserted.

As will be described hereinafter, the initial movement of the slider 55 opens gate 35 that normally closes slit 34, this opening movement of the gate enabling the customer to insert a card of pre-established size upon which he has written or otherwise constructed a display which he wishes exhibited. However, it is the purpose of this invention to prevent an unlimited display privilege to be extended this customer merely as a result of his deposition of a single coin, so accordingly means now to be described are provided for incrementally returning the chain 70 to its initial position, with certain means pro- .vided for removing the card from view at the conclusion of the purchased display period.

A preferred means for establishing the incremental return movements of the chain 70 involves solenoid 90, which is mounted upon base plate 30 by means of solenoid support 91 secured to plate 30 so as not to interfere with movements of chain 70 in either direction. Solenoid 90 is electrically energized, such as every 6 hours, in response to a timing mechanism hereinafter described. The armature 92 of the solenoid is caused to move from its normal position shown in FIGURE 3, to its extended position shown in FIGURE 8, each time energization takes place. Arm 93 is pivotally mounted on the end of armature 92 remote from the winding of the solenoid and as indicated in FIGURE 3, and a spring 99 is provided for holding arm 93 in position in which it can come into contact with pawl so as to pivot this pawl to the right as shown in FIGURE 6 and cause driving point 771) to engage the chain 70 so as to index it in the return direction.

Inasmuch as the solenoid is typically energized several times during the period purchased by a single coin, the time subtracting stroke is only a fraction of the length of the additive stroke, and indexes the chain 70 only fractionally. For example, if the machine is set for 48 hour display periods, each slider movement may cause an eight bead advance and each solenoid movement will return the chain one head or increment every six hours. Obviously, the eight bead advance and the one bead return strokes are arbitrary and may be varied to suit the need.

It is, of course not desirable that there be interference between the respective mechanisms used for advancing and for returning the chain. For that reason I provide a small extension 94 on pivot arm 93, best seen in FIG- URE 8. A cam surface 95 is provided on the uppermost portion of member 74, which surface is generally in alignment with extension 94, as revealed in FIGURE 4. Therefore, upon member 74 being moved to the left by the slider 55, the arm 93 is caused to move upwardly as shown in FIGURE 6 so as to clear the pawl and avoid inhibiting its movement.

This is to say, that when member 74 is approaching its right hand position as shown in FIGURE 6, there is no contact between extension 94 and cam surface 95 sufiicient to move arm 93 upwardly until such time as arm 93 has moved the pawl 74 for a full stroke to the right. However, when the member 74 is being moved to the left, there desirably is contact between members 94 and 95, as revealed in FIGURE 7, to the end that pivot arm 93 is caused to pivot upwardly as a result of member 94 riding along cam surface 95, thus causing the tip of arm 93 to avoid contact with pawl 74 during its chain advancing movements.

Thus with regard to the chain, it is to be seen that pawl 75 causes the chain 70 to be indexed clockwise, or to the left as shown in FIGURE 7 as the customer inserts his coin, and the solenoid armature and related devices cause the chain to be gradually returned to its initial position as a result of predetermined incremental motion.

Turning now to a consideration of the card holding mechanism for retaining the card, and the gate mechanism for controlling the opening of the card-accepting slit 34, the slidable rod 83 is equipped with an arm 84 located near its right hand end as viewed in FIGURES 3 and 7. A cam operating roller 85 is rotatably mounted upon arm 84, which roller is arranged to move cam 142 from the position shown in FIGURE 11, counter clockwise to the position shown in FIGURE 10, as

the slider 55 is pushed in to move the member 74 and the rod 83 secured thereto. As shown in FIGURE 9, the cam 142 is mounted upon vertically disposed card supporting member 136 which is rotatably supported in upper and lower housing members. Member 136 may, for example, be supported in a recess in the lower housing member, and by a supporting bracket 140 at its upper end as best seen in FIGURES 9, 15 and 16. Member 136 may for example be made of plastic, with card holding portion 36 secured thereto as shown in FIG- URES l and 11 to support the card in the manner depicted in FIGURES and 17.

At the time a customers first coin is deposited, the cam 142 is in the position shown in FIGURE 11, in which the card holding portion 36 is disposed in the position that caused the previous customers card 139 to be ejected as shown in phantom lines in this figure. Upon the slider moved inwardly in the direction shown by arrows in FIGURE 10, the cam operating roller 85 is moved to the position shown in full lines in FIGURE 10, so as to rotate the cam 142. A latch 113 is provided to retain the cam in this new position, and upon the cam contacting microswitch 143, which is supported by a bracket 143a adjacent the extreme position of the cam 142, this microswitch is operated and serves to close the circuit to the winding of the solenoid 90, so that it can be operated at predetermined intervals as hereinafter described in detail.

A preferred circuit arrangement involves the solenoid winding being placed in series with the switch 143, and the timing switch 171 associated with the timing arrangement depicted in FIGURES 23-27. I prefer to utilize a standard 110 volts A.C. system, with the winding of the solenoid being energized only if the switch 143 has been closed by the deposition of a coin, and then only at subsequent intervals determined by the timing arrangement. As an ancillary feature, I may in some installations utilize an illumination means for illuminating the customers card, with the lamp being turned on only when the cam is in the position shown in FIGURE 10, such as by a switch ganged to operate with switch 143.

After causing by the insertion of a coin the cam 142 to be disposed in the latched position shown in FIG- URE 10, this new customer can insert his inscribed card 130 through the slot 34 into the supporting means defined by movable member 36 and stationary member 153, which is equipped with slot 154. The card will remain in this position until the cam is released a number of hours later, at the expiration of the time purchased, at which time ejecting spring 110 biases member 36 to the card ejecting position, and rejects the card. The back of the unit may be open, inasmuch as the units are typically mounted in the proper proximity to a wall, and in such instance the rejected card leaves the unit entirely, and falls down between the bank of units and the wall, to be received by the reject drawer or bin 166,

Referring to FIGURE 6, the details of latch 113 are revealed, which include a pivotal mounting of the latch upon latch mounting bracket 114 attached to the underside of base plate 30, and a spring 120 to bias the latch into the latching position. Catch portion 118 is disposed on latch 113 in such a position as to engage shoulder 119 of cam 142 so as to hold latter member in the position shown in FIGURE 10. Therefore, upon the customer inserting his first coin and pushing in the slider 55, in addition to indexing the chain, the movement of the rod 83 also moves the cam 142 into its latched position and member 36 into its card receiving position. It should be noted that succeeding coins deposited before the expiration of the time period purchased by the first coin will not have any efiect upon the cam 142, for it stays latched until the time period has expired.

The aforementioned large bead 71 is disposed upon the chain in such a position that it engages and actuates tripping member 86 at the end of the final time period purchased. Chain 70 extends through aperture 96 of the tripping member 86 shown in FIGURE 6, but this aperture by design does not allow bead 71 to pass through. Accordingly, upon the chain 70 being incrementally moved by the action of the solenoid 90' until such time as the head 71 engages the tripping member 86, latter member is caused to pivot clockwise about its pivot point 88 as shown in dashed lines in FIGURE 6, and cause tripping linkage 87 to pivot latch 113 clockwise against the bias of its spring 120, thus to free cam 142 and allow it to move under the influence of spring to the position shown in FIGURE 11. It should be noted that tripping linkage 87 is provided with a slot at its right hand end as shown in FIGURE 6 to enable latch 113 to pivot freely at such time as shoulder 119 passes over the catch portion 118 without altering the position of tripping member. A spring (not shown) is provided to hold tripping member 86 in substantially vertical position, in which it is in contact with stop 102 as shown in FIGURE 6.

As shown in FIGURES 9 and 12 through 14, the gate 35 is normally closed by tension spring 134, this gate being supported by gate support studs 132 which extend through angularly disposed slots 131 located in gate 35. Because of the positioning of the spring 134 it ordinarily biases the gate into a normally closed position as shown in FIGURE 12, in which the studs are located at the right hand end of slots 131, but as a result of the rotative movement of member 144 by the slider 55-rod 136 combination, the gate is moved against the bias of spring 134 to the open position shown in FIGURE 13 as the initial coin is deposited.

The gate operator 144 is disposed upon an upper extension 147 mounted directly above member 136, and is rotatable therewith. Member 147 is of non-circular cross section and for example, may be square in cross section, with operator 144 having a complementary aperture therein through which member 147 extends as shown in FIGURES l5 and 16. Spring 150 is a compression spring disposed upon extension 147 and serves to bias operator 144 upwardly against the underside of top piece 33, as shown in FIGURE 15. If at this point the member 136 is caused to rotate, in the counter clockwise direction as shown in the top views, this causes the gate 34 to move from the closed position shown in FIG- URE 12, to the open position shown in FIGURE 13 that permits the customer to insert his card to be displayed.

To enable the gate 34 to be closed by the customer, I provide a button 151 disposed in an appropriate aperture in top piece 33 so as to extend above the unit in full vision of the customer. Button 151 has a hollow interior and is disposed upon extension 147 in such a manner that by depressing it in accordance with instructions printed on the front of each unit, the customer can thereby push the operator 142 against the bias of spring 150 to the position below the plane of gate 35 as shown in FIGURE 16, thus allowing the spring 134 to bias the gate back to the closed position shown in FIGURE 14. Then upon the termination of the customers time, thei tripping of cam 142 is brought about by the tripping linkage and the member 136 is rotated by the spring 110 back to the position shown in FIGURE 12 in which position the operator 144 can be moved upwardly by spring 150 to the plane of the gate 35, and thus be able to again be in a position for opening the gate upon the deposition of the next new coin.

It is desirable to provide means to prevent chain 70 from the rotating too far and damaging component parts, and to that end I provide an override safety mechanism 156 which, as shown in FIGURE 18, comprises a pivoted lever arm 157 supported by a pivot pin 158 from base plate 30, and a lock pin 161 arranged to inhibit movement of the slider 55 under certain conditions. In the present embodiment, the override mechanism is mounted on base plate 30 adjacent the return portion of the hain as shown in FIGURE 4, but if more capacity is desired, the override mechanism can be on the front side of the chain, shown in FIGURE 3, between the sheave g2 d pawl 75. An aperture 159 is provided in an upper portion of lever arm 157 through which the chain 70 extends. Upon a customer attempting to deposit a coin in addition to the maximum permissible limit, the large bead 71 moves into firm contact with lever arm 157 and causes it to pivot counter clockwise about pivot 158 into the position as shown in FIGURE 19. Since lock pin 161 is slidably disposed in pin guide 164 located above slider 55, this motion brings about an insertion of the pin into an interfering position with respect to the slider.

More particularly, this movement of lever arm 157 serves to exert pressure upon a spring 162, which is a compression spring disposed upon lock pin 161 in contact with a collar 163 located thereon. The lock pin is supported by lever 157 in such a manner that it can be moved into and out of a position in which it inhibits the movement of the slider 55; see FIGURE 19. It should be noted that the pin 161 is equipped with a large mounting hole in its upper portion so as to achieve a lost motion arrangement in which movements of lever 157 do not demand a commensurate motion of pin 161, for this might tend to cause interference or binding. Rather, the movement of lever 157 has the direct result of only compressing spring 162 as previously mentioned, thus enabling the lower tip of pin 161 to be biased by spring 162 into contact with the upper surface of slider 55 and to ride therealong as the slide is withdrawn until such time as a slot or aperture 160 near the end of the slider is reached. At such time the pin drops into this aperture, and prevents further operation of the slider 55 until such time as the chain 70 has been indexed sufliciently far by the solenoid that large bead 71 has been moved away from the lever 157, thus to allow the pin 161 to be biased by spring 162 out of the interfering position with the slider 55.

It is of course desirable to have a satisfactory arrangement for the collection of coins from each bank of display devices, and to this end I provide a short, angled coin way 46 which extends in the manner shown in FIG- URES 20 and 21 from a position below the rearmost end of coin slider 55 into connecting contact with a substantially vertically disposed coin passage 47. Conveniently, I have designed the coin passages to automatically be in alignment upon several display units being stacked in the manner shown in FIGURES 2 and 20 and this construction obviously enables coins from all the units in a given vertical arrangement to fall into a composite coin passage that extends for the height of the units.

As shown in FIGURE 20, a coin box 165 is disposed at the bottom of coin passage 47 to serve as a repository for coins received by the various units disposed above it. Reject bin 166 may be disposed alongside the coin box 165 to serve as a collection means for the cards ejected at the end of the time period purchased on the several units. The coin box and the reject bin may be located in a base unit upon which each tier of units is stacked, or alternatively may be disposed in a special unit manufactured to be employed as the lower unit of the stack of card display devices.

Referring to FIGURES 22 through 27, an exemplary arrangement is there shown for timing the operation of the solenoid 9i) and for causing it to be actuated periodically, such as every six hours, for example. In this arrangement a standard electric clock mechanism (not shown) is provided for driving, by means of an appropriately geared arrangement, a supporting disc 167 in rotation, this disc preferably making one revolution every twenty four hours. Upon the disc a number of leaf type springs 168 are disposed in spaced relation about its periphery. These springs are comparatively flexible and extend for a predetermined distance beyond the edge of the supporting disc, with the number of springs employed on a disc being capable of being varied. For example, four springs 168 can be utilized as shown in FIGURES 22 and 23, but the number of springs may be increased to eight as shown in FIGURE 25 if the chain 70 is to be moved in the return direction in more frequently occurring increments of time.

As the supporting disc 167 rotates in the counter clockwise direction, an intercepting roller 169 causes each successive leaf spring to be flexed in the general manner shown in FIGURE 23. As will be understood, as the disc continues to rotate, the leaf spring is caused to flex to a greater extent until it eventually clears the roller. At the instant the leaf spring does clear the roller, a whip-like motion ensues during which the rapidly moving leaf spring instantaneously contacts the operating arm 170 of the timing switch 171, and then passes beyond. This instantaneous closing of this switch closes the circuit in which the solenoid of one or more display units is disposed, which of course causes the chain 76) of the unit or units to be moved in the return direction for a pre-established distance.

As previously discussed, the winding of solenoid 90 is disposed in series with the cam operated switch 143 and the time switch 171, so inasmuch as the switch 143 was necessarily closed at the time of the insertion of the coin (or the first coin of a series if more than one coin was deposited by a customer), the closing of the timing switch 171 by the sudden encounter with a leaf spring completes the circuit and causes the solenoid to be momentarily energized.

As shown by FIGURES 26 and 27, a retaining disc 172 is employed in conjunction with the disc 167 to prevent the leaf springs from becoming accidentally dislodged. This disc is preferably held in place by a screw and this disc may be turned by hand in the direction of the arrow if the owner or operator wishes to advance the time during installation of the units, or in the event of a power failure, to bring the cycling of the machine back to a pre-established condition. The disc 172 makes one revolution every 24 hours and accordingly may be calibrated from one to 24. Therefore, once the disc is set to the correct hour, the disc at all times registers the correct time. By placing the disc 172 in a portion of the housing such that it can be viewed through a small window, the customer, if he knows the actuation times of the unit, can ascertain whether he will receive a full 24 hour or 48 hour period (or multiple thereof), or whether due to the coincidental position of the disc 167 when he deposited his first coin, is going to lose most or a part of the first 6 hours of the initial time period purchased.

I claim:

1.' A device for displaying an externally inserted card for a predetermined period, comprising card receiving means operable to support a card for visible display, a coin mechanism, means including an endless flexible time storage means operative in a first direction in response to the deposition of one or more coins in said coin mechanism for setting said card receiving means for visible card display for a succession of predetermined periods reflecting the number of coins deposited, normally dormant means for periodically indexing said time storage means in the opposite direction, said flexible time storage means being constructionally distinct from said card receiving means, but having means thereon for bringing about operation of said card receiving means at the end of said succession of periods to remove the card on display.

2. The device as defined in claim 1 in which said flexible time storage means is a beaded chain, with pawl means being employed for indexing said chain in the time storage direction as coins are deposited.

3. The device for displaying an externally inserted card for a predetermined period, comprising card receiving means operable to support a card for visible display, a coin mechanism, means including an endless flexible time storage means operative in a first direction in response to the deposition of one or more coins in said coin mechanism for setting said card receiving means for visible card display for a succession of predetermined periods reflecting the number of coins deposited, normally dormant means for periodically indexing said time storage means in the opposite direction, and means disposed upon said time storage means for bringing about operation of said card receiving means at the end of said succession of periods to remove the card on display, said flexible time storage means being a beaded chain, with pawl means employed for indexing said chain in the time storage direction as coins are deposited, said beaded chain having an enlarged portion thereon for bringing about said removal of the card on display at the end of the display period, and means engageable by said enlarged portion, upon said chain having been indexed to its capacity position by the deposition of a large number of coins, to prevent an additional coin being deposited.

4. A device for displaying an externally inserted card for a predetermined period, comprising card receiving means operable to support a card for visible display, a coin mechanism, means including an endless flexible time storage means operative in a first direction in response to the deposition of one or more coins in said coin mechanism for setting said card receiving means for visible card display for a succession of predetermined periods reflecting the number of coins deposited, normally dormant means for periodically indexing said time storage means in the opposite direction, and means disposed upon said time storage means for bringing about operation of said card receiving means at the end of said succession of periods to remove the card on display, said normally dormant means for indexing said time storage means being an electrical device whose actuation is periodically controlled by the closing of an electrical switch, a rotatable disc operatively associated with said switch, said disc being driven comparatively slowly in rotation, a number of elongated flexible arm-like members disposed in spaced relation about the periphery of said disc, and stationary means spaced from the axis of rotation of said disc for intercepting the outer end portion of each arm-like member as said disc rotates, each of said armlike members, upon being successively intercepted, tending to flex sufliciently so as to be able to pass said stationary means, said switch means being disposed in the path of the released arm-like members, and arranged to be momentarily actuated by the impact from each successive arm-like member, thereby closing the electrical circuit of said electrical device sufficient for the periodic operation thereof.

5. A device for displaying an externally inserted card for a predetermined period, comprising card receiving means operable to support a card for visible display, a coin mechanism, means including an endless flexible time storage means operative in a first direction in response to the deposition of one or more coins in said coin mechanism for setting said card receiving means for visible card display for a succession of predetermined periods reflecting the number of coins deposited, normally dormant means for periodically indexing said time storage means in the opposite direction, and means disposed upon said time storage means for bringing about operation of said card receiving means at the end of said succession of periods to remove the card on display, said flexible time storage means being a beaded chain, with a pawl disposed adjacent said chain but normally out of contact therewith, said pawl being capable of being tilted in either of two directions to bring it into driving contact with said chain, and also capable of being moved parallel to the chain in the direction to bring about movement thereof, either in the time storage direction, or in the direction opposite the time storage direction.

6. A device for displaying an externally inserted card for a predetermined period, comprising card receiving means movable to a position in which it supports a card for visible display, an endless flexible time storage means constructionally distinct from said card receiving means and operative in a time storage direction away from an initial position in order to establish the display period for said card receiving means, a coin mechanism movable in response to the deposition of a coin for indexing said time storage means for a predetermined distance in said time storage direction, and for closing a normally open electrical switch, normally dormant electrically actuated means for periodically indexing said time storage means in the direction opposite said time storage direction in order to prevent unlimited display privilege, said switch being disposed in series relation in the electrical circuit of said normally dormant means to enable the circuit to be completed upon the closing of said switch so that operation of latter means can periodically commence to bring about the return movements of said time storage means, and means disposed upon said time storage means for bringing about movement of said card receiving means to a card-rejecting position at the time said time storage means is returned to its initial position, and for opening said switch to cause said normally dormant means to cease operation.

7. A device for displaying an externally inserted card for a predetermined period, comprising card receiving means movable to a position in which it supports a card for visible display, an endless flexible time storage means operative in a time storage direction away from an initial position in order to establish the display period for said card receiving means, a coin mechanism movable in response to the deposition of a coin for indexing said time storage means for a predetermined distance in said time storage direction, and for closing a normally open electrical switch, normally dormant electrically actuated means for periodically indexing said time storage means in the direction opposite said time storage direction in order to prevent unlimited display privilege, said switch being disposed in series relation in the electrical circuit of said normally dormant means to enable the circuit to be completed upon the closing of said switch so that operation of latter means can periodically commence to bring about the return movements of said time storage means, and means disposed upon said time storage means for bringing about movement of said card receiving means to a card-rejecting position at the time said time storage means is returned to its initial position, and for opening said switch to cause said normally dormant means to cease operation, a second switch also disposed in a series relationship in the circuit of said normally dormant means, latter switch being normally open, with the closings thereof being responsible for bringing about said periodic operation of said normally dormant means, the closings of said second switch being brought about by a flexible arm-like member which is deformed and suddenly released to bring same into momentary switchoperating contact with said second switch.

8. The device as defined in claim 7 in which the device is contained in a generally rectangularly shaped housing equipped with a window through which the inserted card is exhibited, means for stacking a plurality of said housings together, and means for interconnecting the electrical circuits of such devices together such that a single second switch can bring about said periodic operation of said normally dormant means of each device.

9. A coin operated device for displaying an externally inserted card or the like for a purchased period of time, the length of the period purchased being determined by the number of coins deposited, with the period being terminated after a time interval, said device comprising card receiving means operable between a position in which the inserted card is supported for visible display, and a position assumed at the end of the purchased time period that causes the card to be rejected from view, an endless flexible time storage means capable of being indexed in a time storage direction to establish the display period for the inserted card, a coin receiving mechanism functionally interrelated with said card receiving means and said time storage means, the motion of said coin receiving mechanism in response to the first coin received setting said card receiving means in card displaying position, as well as causing said time storage means to be indexed a pre-established amount in the time storage direction to establish a display period, each subsequent coin deposited in said coin receiving mechanism during the display period purchased by said first coin causing said time storage means to be indexed an additional pre-established amount, normally dormant means for incrementally indexing said time storage means in the direction opposite the time storage direction in order to prevent an unlimited display privilege, and means associated with said time storage means for bringing about operation of said card receiving means into the position that rejects the card from view at the end of the time period purchased.

10. A coin operated device for displaying an externally inserted card for a predetermined purchased period, said device comprising a housing, a card insertion slit disposed in said housing, a gate movable to open or close said slit, card receiving means disposed in said housing adjacent said slit, said card receiving means being operable between a latched position in which the inserted card is received and supported for visible display, and a position assumed at the end of a purchased time period that causes the card to be rejected from view, an endless flexible time storage means capable of being incrementally indexed in a first direction, with the amount indexed representing the card display time purchased, a coin receiving mechanism operably connected to bring about an indexing movement of said time storage means in response to each coin deposited in said coin receiving mechanism, the first coin deposited to cause the commencement of a display period for a card being inserted in said device not only causing said time storage means to be indexed for a first incremental amount, but also causing said card receiving means to be latched in the position for receiving and displaying the card, and causing said gate controlling said card insertion slit to be opened, each subsequent coin deposited in said coin receiving mechanism during this display period purchased, principally serving only to cause said time storage means to be indexed an additional predetermined amount, means for limiting the display period by periodically indexing said time storage means in the direction opposite the time storage direction, and means operably interconnected with said time storage means for causing the rejection of said card at the end of the total period purchased.

11. A coin operated device for displaying an externally inserted card for a predetermined purchased period, said device comprising a housing, a card insertion slit disposed in said housing, movable card-receiving means disposed in said housing adjacent said slit for receiving a customers card inserted therein, a coin receiving mechanism, said card-receiving means being movable from a card-rejecting position into the card-receiving position as a first coin is deposited by a customer into said coin receiving mechanism, an endless flexible time storage means movable away from an initial position to an extent that determines the time a card is displayed, a pawl disposed adjacent said time storage means for moving latter means a given amount in a time storage direction as the first coin and each successive coin, is deposited in said coin receiving mechanism by a customer, said pawl being mounted for slidable movement in either of two directions away from a center biases position, and being pivotally mounted for comparatively small rotative movements in either direction away from an approximately vertical position, said pawl, when rotated away from the vertical position being disposed in driving relation with said time storage means said coin receiving mechanism being connected to cause rotative movement of said pawl in a first direction to bring it into said driving relation with said time storage means, and subsequently to bring about an indexing movement of said time storage means in the time storage direction as each coin is deposited, and means for periodically indexing said time storage means in the opposite direction to ultimately bring it back to said initial position, latter means causing said pawl to be initially rotated in the direction opposite said first direction, so as to bring about driving engagement with said time storage means so that movements thereof in the return direction can be brought about, and means for moving said card receiving means to said card-rejecting position upon said time storage means being returned to said initial position.

12. A device for displaying a message card or the like for a purchased interval of time, said device comprising card-receiving means into which a card may normally be inserted into visible position from the exterior of the device by a client, an actuating mechanism, means for determining the time an inserted card is displayed including a flexible time storage means physically distinct from said card receiving means, said flexible time storage means being arranged to be indexed in a first direction as a result of operation of said actuating mechanism, with the extent said time storage means is indexed being a function of the number of operations of said actuating mechanism, normally dormant means for periodically indexing said flexible time storage means in the direction opposite said first direction, and means for causing said card receiving means to remove the card from View when said flexible time storage means has been returned to a rest position.

13. The device as defined in claim 12 in which a gated opening is provided through which a card to be displayed in inserted, a gate disposed to positively close said opening after insertion of a card and arranged to allow the insertion of another card only at such time as a previous time period has expired and said actuating mechanism has again been operated.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 780,395 Wertheimer Jan. 17, 1905 2,679,705 Rainous June 1, 1954 2,839,856 Swank June 24, 

1. A DEVICE FOR DISPLAYING AN EXTERNALLY INSERTED CARD FOR A PREDETERMINED PERIOD, COMPRISING CARD RECEIVING MEANS OPERABLE TO SUPPORT A CARD FOR VISIBLE DISPLAY, A COIN MECHANISM, MEANS INCLUDING AN ENDLESS FLEXIBLE TIME STORAGE MEANS OPERATIVE IN A FIRST DIRECTION IN RESPONSE TO THE DEPOSITION OF ONE OR MORE COINS IN SAID COIN MECHANISM FOR SETTING SAID CARD RECEIVING MEANS FOR VISIBLE CARD DISPLAY FOR A SUCCESSION OF PREDETERMINED PERIODS REFLECTING THE NUMBER OF COINS DEPOSITED, NORMALLY DORMANT MEANS FOR PERIODICALLY INDEXING SAID TIME STORAGE MEANS IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, SAID FLEXIBLE TIME STORAGE MEANS BEING CONSTRUCTIONALLY DISTINCT FROM SAID CARD RECEIVING MEANS, BUT HAVING MEANS THEREON FOR BRINGING ABOUT OPERATION OF SAID CARD RECEIVING MEANS AT THE END OF SAID SUCCESSION OF PERIODS TO REMOVE THE CARD ON DISPLAY. 